starve
gb/stˈɑɹv/ us/stˈɑɹv/
B1
English
~ 7400
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B1
action
1
be extremely hungry or without food
To be in great need of food, or to feel very, very hungry.
Usage pattern:
to starve; to be starving; to starve to death
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think 'starve' only means 'to die', but it can also mean simply 'to be extremely hungry'. The informal phrase 'I'm starving' is common and usually does not mean the person is actually near death. Another mistake is using the simple past 'I starved' when they just mean 'I was very hungry'—in everyday speech, 'I was starving' is more natural.
Synonyms
go hungry (Describes not having enough food, but sounds slightly less intense or dramatic than 'starve'.)
|
famish (Much less common and more formal or old-fashioned than 'starve'.)
Antonyms
be full (Describes having eaten enough food, the opposite physical state of being starving.)
|
feast (Suggests eating a large amount of food, in strong contrast to starving.)
Collocations
starve to death
|be starving
|people are starving
|slowly starve
|face starvation
|starve during the winter
Themes
health
|survival
|daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Without help, many families in the drought-stricken region will starve.
- By the time we got home from the hike, we were absolutely starving.
- Prisoners were left to starve in their cells for days.
- Millions of people still starve while food is wasted in other parts of the world.
- The lost climbers were close to starving when the rescue team found them.
Learner examples
- I am starving, so I need some food now.
- If she does not eat soon, she will feel like she is starving.
- Many animals starve when there is no rain.
- They were lost in the desert and began to starve.
- The news said some children are starving in that country.
Verb
B2
action
2
deliberately deny food to someone
To not give someone or an animal enough food, so that they suffer a lot and may die.
Usage pattern:
to starve [someone/something]; to starve [someone/something] to death
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say 'He starved him from food' instead of 'He starved him' or 'He deprived him of food'. The preposition 'from' is not used here. Another mistake is using this strong, serious sense in casual situations where 'didn't feed' or 'forgot to feed' would be more appropriate.
Synonyms
deprive (More general; does not specifically mean taking away food unless a food object is added.)
|
neglect (Focuses on failing to care for someone, which can include not giving enough food but is broader in meaning.)
Antonyms
feed (Direct opposite, meaning to give food to someone or something.)
|
nourish (Emphasizes giving good or enough food to support health, the reverse of starving someone.)
Collocations
starve prisoners
|starve animals
|starve a population
|starve people to death
|starve them into submission
|deliberately starve
Themes
conflict
|crime
|ethics
|health
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The regime was accused of trying to starve the rebels into submission.
- They were jailed for starving their dogs and leaving them without water.
- Cutting off food supplies was a way to slowly starve the city.
- The army starved the village for weeks before finally attacking.
- Charities say that using food as a weapon to starve civilians is a war crime.
Learner examples
- The farmer was wrong to starve his horses.
- The soldiers tried to starve the town by blocking all food trucks.
- You must not starve your pets; they need food every day.
- The cruel king wanted to starve his enemies in the castle.
- They almost starved the baby birds by mistake.
Verb
B2
action
3
have far too little of something
To not have enough of something important that you need or really want, like love, money, or rest.
Usage pattern:
to starve for [something]; to be starved of [something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say 'starve from attention' instead of 'starve for attention' or 'be starved of attention'. The usual patterns are 'starve for [something]' (active desire) and 'be starved of [something]' (passive lack). Another mistake is using this form with food, where the simple verb 'starve' without a preposition is more natural.
Synonyms
crave (Focuses more on the strong desire, not always on long-term lack or deprivation.)
|
lack (Neutral and general; does not carry the same emotional intensity as 'starve'.)
Antonyms
have plenty of (Describes having a large or comfortable amount of something, the opposite of being starved of it.)
|
be rich in (Suggests having a lot of something valuable, contrasting with serious shortage.)
Collocations
starve for attention
|starve for affection
|be starved of love
|starved of resources
|starved of sleep
|starved of opportunities
Themes
emotions
|society
|work
|core_vocabulary
|daily_life
Examples
- Some children grow up starved of affection and support.
- The project has been starved of funds for years.
- He was starved for sleep after working three night shifts in a row.
- Small towns are often starved of job opportunities.
- Artists in the region say they are starved of cultural spaces to show their work.
Learner examples
- She feels starved of love in her family.
- The school is starved of money for new books.
- I am starved for sleep after my exams.
- Many young people are starved of free time.
- The team is starved of good players this year.
Verb
C1
action
4
deny needed supplies or support
To not give enough money, help, or other things that are needed, usually on purpose, so that a person or group has problems.
Usage pattern:
to starve [something] of [something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes drop the second object and say 'starve the hospital' when they mean 'starve the hospital of money'. In this figurative sense, English normally uses the pattern 'starve [something] of [something]'. Using 'starve' alone without 'of' often sounds like the literal food meaning instead.
Synonyms
cut off (More general phrasal verb for stopping a supply; does not always carry the idea of a slow, severe shortage.)
|
withhold (Focuses on intentionally not giving something; lacks the metaphor of causing serious, ongoing shortage.)
Antonyms
fund (Specifically means to give money, often what is being denied when something is starved of resources.)
|
support (General opposite, meaning to provide what is needed, not to starve it.)
Collocations
starve schools of funding
|starve the public sector of cash
|starve the opposition of airtime
|starve the enemy of supplies
|starve the market of information
|starve the campaign of resources
Themes
politics
|economy
|work
|business
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The government was accused of starving rural hospitals of vital equipment.
- They tried to starve the terrorist group of money by freezing its bank accounts.
- Management has starved the department of staff for years.
- New laws aim to starve criminal networks of weapons.
- The company is starving smaller competitors of access to key data.
Learner examples
- The city has starved its schools of money.
- They want to starve the enemy of food and fuel.
- New rules starve the group of important information.
- The manager has starved our team of time and support.
- The plan is to starve the war of money.
Verb
informal
C1
action
5
feel extremely cold (dialectal)
In some areas, to feel very, very cold.
Usage pattern:
to be starving; to starve with cold
Common mistake:
Learners may misunderstand this regional use and think it refers to hunger. In most varieties of English, 'I'm starving' means 'I'm very hungry', not 'I'm very cold'. The 'cold' meaning is limited to certain dialects, especially in parts of the UK and Ireland.
Synonyms
freeze (Standard verb meaning to feel very cold; more widely understood than this regional use of 'starve'.)
Antonyms
warm up (Means to become warmer or feel less cold, the opposite experience of starving with cold.)
Collocations
I'm starving with the cold
|we were starving in that wind
|absolutely starving outside
Themes
weather
|daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Close that window, I'm starving in here.
- We were starving on the sidelines in that icy wind.
- Put your coat on or you'll starve waiting for the bus.
Learner examples
- In that town, people say they are starving when they are very cold.
- He stood at the bus stop and said he was starving in the snow.
- She was starving in the thin jacket on a winter night.
Grammar
Dictionary form
starve
IPA
GB/stˈɑɹv/
US/stˈɑɹv/
Syllables & stress
starve (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (starve)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: starve
- 3rd Person Singular: starves
- Present Participle: starving
- Past: starved
Word family
Forms
starves
verb
starving
verb
starved
verb
Core family
starvation
noun B1
Expressions
feed a cold, starve a fever
1/fˈid ə kˈoʊld | stˈɑɹv ə fˈivɚ/
idiom
informal
old saying about food and illness
A traditional saying that tells people to eat more when they have a cold and to eat less when they have a fever. It is not strict medical advice and many people do not follow it.
Examples
- My grandmother always said, 'Feed a cold, starve a fever.'
- Some people still repeat the phrase 'feed a cold, starve a fever', even though doctors question it.
- He joked about 'feeding a cold and starving a fever' while deciding what soup to make.
starve for something
1/stˈɑɹv fɚ sˈʌmθɪŋ/
phrasal verb
want something very much from lack
To want or need something very much because you have not had enough of it for a long time.
Examples
- He grew up starved for affection.
- After months of lockdown, people were starving for live music.
- The kids are starving for some time outside in the sun.
starve out
1/stˈɑɹv ˈaʊt/
phrasal verb
force to give in by cutting supplies
To make a person or group give up or leave a place by stopping food or other supplies from reaching them.
Examples
- The army tried to starve out the rebels by surrounding the city.
- Landlords used to starve out tenants by cutting off heat and water.
- They hoped to starve out the strikers, but public support stayed strong.
starve someone of something
1/stˈɑɹv sˈʌmwˌʌn əv sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
deny someone what they need
To not give a person or group enough of something they need, such as food, money, or love.
Examples
- The regime has starved its people of basic freedoms for decades.
- Underfunding has starved teachers of the tools they need to do their jobs.
- You should not starve children of the attention they need.
starve something of something
1/stˈɑɹv sˈʌmθɪŋ əv sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
keep an organization short of resources
To not give an organization, place, or system enough money, help, or other things it needs to work well.
Examples
- The policy has starved local services of funding.
- New regulations could starve small businesses of credit.
- Critics say the plan would starve public transport of investment.
starve to death
1/stˈɑɹv tə dˈɛθ/
fixed phrase
die because of not enough food
To die because a person or animal does not get enough food for a long time.
Examples
- Many prisoners were left to starve to death in the camp.
- Without international aid, thousands could starve to death this year.
- They were determined not to let any of the animals starve to death.